Monday, July 17, 2006
Love Parade!
The New Love Parade: Now Kid-Friendly!
More soon...
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
One last World Cup post
It was really great to be in Germany for the World Cup, not least because of the great mood that overtook Berlin. I wrote a piece for the New Republic last week about the patriotism that defined things here during the Weltmeisterschaft. (That's World Cup in German.)
Monday, July 10, 2006
So friendly!
Angie's so great. Who wouldn't want someone this friendly ruling their country? (From the German Chancellor's "Kid's Page," whose headline reads "Chancellor: Not just any other job.") Now, if only she looked like this in real life...
Monday, July 03, 2006
The truth on the flagpole
Their shot at the Cup thwarted by poor hydration and cleats to a Portuguese crotch, it's perhaps late to be posting about the English. But: I took this picture outside the British Embassy in Berlin during the first round of the Cup. I thought it was amusing that when soccer was on the line the whole "United Kingdom" thing was thrown out the window in favor of the Cross of St. George on the embassy's flagpole. Maybe 2010 is a good time for the remainder of the Empire to make a final break for the door.
Great headlines come in German too
Good headlines are hard to write. So I loved the hed Berlin's left-wing daily came up with to herald Germany's tight win over Argentina in the World Cup on Friday: "Wenn Bruno dass noch erlebt haette," or "If only Bruno had lived to see this" -- a reference to the rogue bear that had Bavaria (and Germany) in an uproar until he was shot by a hunter last week.
Showing the Colors II
The last few weeks have seen an increase in German patriotism that's difficult to explain unless you've been living here for a while. Ordinarily -- pre-World Cup, that is -- Germans are almost anti-patriotic. Flags show up on government buildings and soldiers' uniforms, and that's about it. Prior to the World Cup police in Berlin were even told not to put the German flag on display, for fear of violating their status as neutral, green-suited keepers of public order.
But Germany's successful drive for the Cup has brought out a whole flood of people waving flags. These guys -- spotted on the Fan Mile in Berlin before the first-round Ecuador game -- are good examples of the breed. The best part is it's generally friendly and un-threatening, which bodes well for the future here.
